May 19, 2009

Take the lack of institutional knowledge caused by term limits, exacerbated of late by the early retirement of a veteran legislator like state Sen. Ken Pruitt and the cancer diagnosis facing another veteran, Sen. Jim King. Add the worst budget crisis the state has faced in decades. And sprinkle with the massive political turnover created by five statewide open seats in 2010.

A recipe for disaster?

"We are going to be spending a huge amount of time on politics when we should be tackling public policy,'' said former state Sen. Rod Smith, who lost a bid for governor in 2006 and may take a shot at attorney general in 2010. "Anyone who says this is not a sad recipe for Florida is denying reality. This is a time when we need leadership.''

Smith said he's nearly made up his mind about his plans for 2010 but isn't ready to talk about them yet. "I enjoyed public life but I haven't missed it a lick,'' he said, sounding like a guy who's going to pass on a statewide campaign.

May 18, 2009

Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson today acknowledged that the very public appeal by Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer to encourage him to endorse Bill McCollum for governor was "definitely putting me on the spot.''

But, he told the Herald/Times, "they also know I'm going to make my decision based on my issues. I'm not going to allow them to dictate what I'm going to do. I've been a bonafide elected official of this state and a lot of people want me to run.''

Bronson said he will not make a decision today whether or not to enter the governor race, or to stay out. "Today is Bill's day,'' he said.

"Let me just say, I don't want anybody to get the idea that this is an anti-Bill McCollum thing. Bill and I have been friends for years. Ingrid, his wife, we've been friends for years. It has nothing to do with the personal side of this. It has more to do with the office of governor and how important that's going to be.

"There are some out there saying no matter who wins is going to be the greatest loser because this is going to be a tough time to be governor."

February 02, 2009

The hottest seat in state government today appears to be the Republican race for Agriculture Commissioner. U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, the Bartow-based Congressman and former state legislator, put his name in the ring today by filing for the post in an increasingly crowded field. Already in the race are former state Rep. Marsha Bowen of Haines City and current state Sen. Carey Baker of Eustis .

December 09, 2008

Remember all those gasoline price gouging complaints during Hurricane Ike last summer? Attorney General Bill McCollum and Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson said Tuesday their offices have launched a joint probe of Morgan Stanley Group and a subsidiary, TransMontaigne, that supplies wholesale gas to McKenzie Oil Company and other distributors, mainly in North Florida.

Bronson said the firm drove up its price by $1.50 a gallon at one point. "They created their own problem. We just want them to answer some questions to our satisfaction," Bronson said.

McCollum said TransMontaigne has been cooperative and that the state plans a face-to-face meeting soon with company officials. He said it was too soon to tell whether any motorists would receive refunds. State officials reported separate consumer complaints against TransMontaigne from MidState Energy near Tampa and from the owner of Tom Thumb convenience stores in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area.

A TransMontaigne spokesman in Denver did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

November 18, 2008

Sen. Carey Baker of Eustis said he's making it official: He's running for Agriculture Commissioner in two years. Rep. Marty Bowen of Haines City might do the same thing, and U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam might as well. So get ready for a Republican rural battle royale

July 29, 2008

A divided Florida Cabinet postponed any decision over the fate of the state’s top mortgage regulator Tuesday and decided to investigate The Miami Herald’s findings further before they move ahead with any sanctions.

The Cabinet ordered Don Saxon, commissioner of the Office of Financial Regulation, to report back in two weeks with proposed rules to tighten the regulation of mortgage brokers and loan originators and ordered the inspector general's office to coordinate with a plan to further investigate the problems exposed by The Miami Herald series.

Saxon told Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet that he believes The Miami Herald series exaggerated the flaws of his office when it reported that the state granted mortgage brokers licenses to thousands of convicted felons, including bank robbers, racketeers and crack dealers.

"I believe there's been a rush to judgment by the media," Saxon said. "Unlike what's been reported in the media, we do not have a systemic problem of licensing felons."

But Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who has called for Saxon to step down, countered his remarks, saying there are provisions in the law that could have both allowed him to issue sanctions against loan originators and others who committed mortgage fraud and that the office "could have been denying more '' brokerage licenses to questionable officials.

"My distress about the situation is that the commission is coming before us today telling us about some of the things his department is going to be doing and he's known about these issues certainly for many months . . . and we could have been doing a lot more before we got to this point today," she said. "To me, it's too little too late."

Sink complained that "this is a much bigger issue'' and said the mortgage broker profession "has been begging for years for tighter requirements."

Crist echoed Sink's concerns and said The Herald's investigative report was "disturbing and distressing," but he ultimately agreed to take more time to check out the allegations before deciding how to proceed.

"I appreciate the press. I understand the media has a function and a job and a duty, but I’m a trust-but-verify guy also," he said "We’ve all had an opportunity since the story broke to review."

The governor said his "confidence was shaken'' and while he appreciated Saxon's service, "we've got to elect to make a difference, not to mark time. . . . All of us have a duty to hear the alarm bells and understand and . . . avoid some of these unfortunate circumstances for the public."

Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson and Attorney General Bill McCollum both defended Saxon and urged the Cabinet to further study the matter before making any decisions on whether Saxon should be held accountable for brokerage licenses falling into the hands of financial criminals.

Bronson said his reading of the law governing Saxon's office was that it was obligated to issue licenses to brokers in most situations. "It doesn't look like it gave you much option," he said.

McCollum said he is aware there were bad characters who have been issued licenses in the mortgage business but wants to clarify "the current state of the law with regard to the powers the OFR has or doesn’t have," McCollum said.

July 20, 2008

Chief Ftinancial Office Alex Sink today called for the resignation of Don Saxon, Commissioner of the office of Financial Regulation, and issued the following statement in response to the Miami Herald investigation into the state regulation of mortgage brokers:

“The Office of Financial Regulation has a duty to protect Floridians from those who would prey upon them. I am outraged by the facts presented in today’s Miami Herald article on mortgage broker licensing.

"As one of four members of the Financial Services Commission, I am calling for the Commissioner of the Office of Financial Regulation to step down and for the immediate launch of a thorough investigation to identify why the people of Florida were not better protected. The Governor and Cabinet must also issue an Emergency Order directing the Office of Financial Regulation to stop issuing or renewing mortgage broker licenses to felons, pending further instruction.

Floridians depend on the state to protect them from criminals, and it is inexcusable that state regulators were asleep at the switch.”

As Florida's real estate market soared, state regulators allowed bank robbers, racketeers and other convicted felons to obtain licenses as mortgage brokers and work as unlicensed loan originators, giving them access to the most sensitive and personal financial information borrowers offer, a Miami Herald investigation has found.

The investigation, Borrowers Betrayed, documents a breakdown in the state's enforcement system created to protect borrowers. Since 2000, regulators failed to weed out people with criminal histories, monitor scam operations and discipline crooked brokers despite a law that requires them to be screened for criminal histories. But as questionable licenses soared, the state reaped record returns in licensing fees while the crooked brokers committed at least $85 million in mortgage fraud.

Despite repeated warnings, Florida's Office of Financial Regulation -- which polices the mortgage industry -- failed to act, allowing many of the scams to thrive until police finally cracked down. Read part one of the series here.

May 23, 2008

Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson on Friday morning called on President Bush and Congress to "launch a full and thorough" investigation into skyrocketing fuel prices which Bronson said are threatening the economy of both the state of Florida and the United States.

Bronson, who called himself a student of history, said the conditions that exist now remind him of 1929 right before the economic collapse and that he was worried that speculators are driving up the cost of oil. He wondered why the cost of diesel fuel was so much higher than gasoline since it cost lest to manufacture. And Bronson said maybe it was time for state leaders to reconsider their opposition to the drilling off Florida's coast.

Bronson also took shots at those who believe continued production of ethanol is to blame for higher food prices, saying that the use of small portion of corn being grown is being used for ethanol.

Regarding issues the state can control, Bronson said that "maybe" it was time to repeal the state law that prohibits companies from selling gasoline at below the cost of procuring it. But Bronson was less enthusiastic about changing law so that he can investigate price gouging complaints year round. Currently, Bronson only has that power when there is a declared emergency in the state.

April 23, 2008

The Florida Senate has tucked inside what was supposed to be a routine elections clean up bill a repeal of the state law that limits who can give money to candidates for Agriculture Commissioner. Currently state law says that no one associated with a grocery store or convenience store can give more than $100 to a candidate for commissioner as opposed to the normal $500 limit.

Records show that Sen. Burt Saunders stuck in the provision on SB 866 in the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Although it must be noted that Sen. Carey Baker, a potential candidate for agriculture commissioner, is on that committee as well.) The bill is one step away from passing the full Senate. Rep. Stan Mayfield, a Vero Beach Republican interested in running for agriculture commissioner in 2010, said it is wrong to place extra limits on agriculture commissioner candidates.

"It's seems a little archaic,'' said Mayfield. "It's a freedom of speech issue."